Arsenal fans cannot "totally celebrate" the signing of Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi despite reports of a verbal agreement on the player's side, according to expert Charles Watts.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the Gunners had got the green light from the Spain international over a summer move, and all that is left is to trigger the €60m (£50.5m) release clause in his contract.
Arsenal were first said to have positioned themselves at the head of the queue for Zubimendi in January, although the 26-year-old memorably turned down the chance to join Liverpool last summer in favour of remaining in San Sebastian.
As the midfielder has already had a late change of heart before, Watts is wary of a similar situation unfolding, but he nevertheless expressed hope that Arsenal will get this transfer over the line with minimal fuss.
"Nothing's really moved on from it," Watts told Sports Mole. "Arsenal have always been very confident that they were going to get him. I know it's cliche, but until I see him holding a shirt, pen in hand, I won't feel totally comfortable with it just because of Zubimendi's past and how he's changed his mind.
"The agreement's been there for some time. Arsenal have been confident that they've got the job done and that he's not going to get swayed by Real Madrid or anyone else. But it's not signed yet. So until it's signed, we can't totally celebrate it. But if it goes the way we're thinking it's going to go, it's great news for Arsenal.
"It's a really good start to the window. It shows real intent. They wanted a six, they've gone out and got what they view and many others view is potentially the best six on the market. That sends a good message. And that's a good sign."
As Liverpool have witnessed Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister flourish at the base of midfield this season, the reigning Premier League champions have cooled their interest in Zubimendi, allowing Arsenal to swoop in.
Should Arsenal still be worried about Real Madrid Zubimendi hijack?
© Imago
The Gunners have largely had a clear run at the Euro 2024 winner, although there had been talk of Real Madrid potentially trying to hijack Arsenal's swoop for Zubimendi, mainly from the Spanish press.
However, Los Blancos are currently working to get a move for Trent Alexander-Arnold done and dusted and are also prioritising the transfer of Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen, having supposedly agreed to pay his £50m release clause.
While Real Madrid will soon replace Carlo Ancelotti with Xabi Alonso - Zubimendi's compatriot and a former deep-lying midfielder - Watts is not worried about the prospect of Los Blancos swooping in at the last second.
"We've been getting that Arsenal have been very confident," he added. "They've done the job and convinced him that this was a club to go to, and they'd got the word from him that he was going to he was going to come. We've just been waiting.
"But it's been that state for three, four months now. The longer it goes on, you're always just a little bit concerned until it's done. But that's always the messages we've got. When all the reports have come out from Real Madrid, I've spoken to people, it's always been 'no, no, you know, we've done a lot of work. We're pretty confident.' So I've never been overly concerned.
"Obviously now Xabi Alonso's about to be confirmed, plays in the same position as Zubimendi, maybe that would have some sort of an impact. But hopefully not. We can only go on what we know at the moment. At the moment, it's all the signs are that he's going to be an Arsenal player very, very early on in the window."
Zubimendi's arrival will coincide with Jorginho's exit on a free transfer, as the Italy international is expected to join Flamengo at the end of the season after Arsenal declined to activate his one-year contract extension.
Thomas Partey is also due to head for the exit door when his terms expire in June, although it has been reported that the Gunners are in talks with the Ghanaian's camp over a possible extension to his agreement.
How Arteta might manage Partey, Zubimendi in 2025-26 season
© Imago
Partey has arguably enjoyed his best campaign in an Arsenal shirt to date in 2024-25, although the former Atletico Madrid midfielder is likely to be tempted by lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia in the summer window.
However, if Partey does end up remaining at the Emirates for at least another year, Watts expects the 31-year-old to share the number six load with Zubimendi, although the latter will be the one who they will "build the team around".
"I think they'll rotate, but I can't imagine Zubimendi has been signed to be a bit part player," Watts concluded. "Zubimendi's coming in to be Arsenal's new number six. Partey has had a good season, but if Arsenal sign Zubimendi, there's a reason for that. They want him to be the guy to build the team around.
"We'll see what happens with Thomas's future. We've spoken about that in the past, there are talks going on. They're not the easiest of talks in terms of coming to an agreement. So we'll wait and see if that happens.
"I can see the business point of view of why it might be better that he goes because of the difference in contract, who wants what, how much money he wants, his age, what's being offered elsewhere.
"Football point of view, if you've got Thomas Partey and Martin Zubimendi as your two number sixes, you're looking very, very strong in that position. But they're not going to be the easiest of talks with Thomas, because both sides are coming at it from very different points of view of what they want. We'll see if a compromise is reached."
A number of Zubimendi's key statistics for the 2024-25 season are inferior to Partey's, although the Spain international entered the campaign on the back of an energy-zapping Euros with La Roja and is considerably less injury prone, only missing 10 games with a fitness problem in his entire career.
Press play on the video above to listen to the full discussion about Zubimendi's impending move to Arsenal.
Ben Knapton
